Click here to donate.

In other news, with the IBT ballots heading out within the next ten days, now’s a great time to catch the video of the entire IBT Candidate Forum. If you’re a Teamster, you should absolutely be voting in the election. And while the forum is no replacement for doing the rest of your homework, it should give you a decent feel for each of the Presidential candidates.

Well, each one except for Mr. Hoffa, who sent Package Division Director Ken Hall as a stand-in. But that’s okay, if you’ve been around a while, you should already have an idea what to expect from Hoffa if he gets re-elected. At least you can get an idea of what his challengers are about — and whether or not they’ll offer a different direction from the one offered by the Hoffa administration.

Click here to see the forum video from the independent election supervisor’s website.

If you’re interested in what I really think about the pending election, you can read more about that here.

I have been an Teamster shop steward at UPS for most of the past decade now. Right now, the future of my employment and the future of my role as a volunteer union representative are uncertain.

The company has been trying for the past couple months to take my job away, despite the fact their actions have been in  violation of the contract as well as existing state and federal laws.

This has been a very trying time for me. It’s difficult dealing with a drastic decrease in income, having to go without my union-negotiated benefits and the humiliation of being subject to the ridiculous process of being judged by incompetent management people without the balance of any impartial or authoritative arbiter. But it’s also difficult not being able to continue representing my Teamster brothers and sisters at work.

However difficult it’s been, I’ve been honored by the number of co-workers and fellow union members who’ve reached out to show support and ask how things are going. Sometimes it’s hard just to keep up with the phone calls and messages, but it’s good to know I haven’t been forgotten by the folks I care so much about.

Because I cannot currently act as a steward to my fellow UPS Teamsters, I am going to stop posting updates on cybersteward.net for the time being, and move my UPS and Teamster-related blogging to The Rank-and-Filer [www.rankandfiler.org].

I hope to return to my job and the role I love as your shop steward as soon as possible, but for the time being, anyone who wants to keep up with the painful process of me fighting for my job can visit me at The Rank-and-Filer.

The fundraiser will be on Saturday, November 27 from 6 to 10 pm, at the Eddington Firehouse Hall (1444 Eddington Ave, Bensalem, PA) and tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Contact Bill Ganard (215-682-0587) for tickets to the event or the $5 50/50 raffle — please click here for a printable flyer for the event.

In my experience, Teamsters have been one of the most generous and caring groups I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m posting this information about the fundraiser in hopes that my sisters and brothers, at Local 384 and elsewhere, will help out in any way they can.

Please click here for the flyer and find out how you can help. Maybe you have a few dollars to spare for a ticket to the event, the raffle, or to simply make a donation. You can even print a copy of the flyer to post and spread the word. Any help is appreciated.

Bonaduce-Condron had an insurmountable lead over the Join Us Slate by the time straight vote totals were counted at 5:30 pm. The straight ticket totals were 1004 to 431 in favor of the current leadership, surprising many observers who expected a much narrower margin. While the election results are the big news of the day, there were other notes of varying importance as well.

(The final vote totals are shown above. Click here for a pdf of the tally)

Equipment Delay
The Union had just ordered a new letter opening machine and had it shipped overnight to the union hall for today’s ballot count. Unfortunately, the new machine barely lasted through the first hundred envelopes. A trip to Staples netted a handful of hand-held letter openers to help finish the process just an hour or so behind schedule.

Voter Turnout
Of 4085 members who received ballots, 1850 ballots were returned — just over 45% voter turnout. While the election supervisor assured us that this was better than average for a local union election (it was a slight improvement on Local 384′s 2007 returns), it’s a little troubling to think less than half the eligible members could be bothered to return a postage-paid ballot.

Random Note
Helping to count ballots with a cast of other volunteers was Joe Lyons, former president of the local my father retired from in 2003. I made a point to approach him and offer my thanks for the generous early retirement package my father received when his former employer moved operations to Mexico.

How about you — have you received your ballot yet? If you’re a member of Teamsters Local 384, you should be receiving one soon, if you haven’t already. If you haven’t received a ballot by October 18 at the latest, make sure to call the Union Hall and request a replacement. All votes must be received in time for the counting on October 28.

Once you have received your ballot, make sure to vote! Read the instructions, use both the inner and outer envelopes, and mail it in. It won’t even cost you the price of a stamp!

VOTE!

• Bonaduce/Condron Slate [link]
  • President: Mike Bonaduce
  • Vice-President: Bobby Gaines
  • Secretary-Treasurer: Matt Condron
  • Recording Secretary: Jim Monagle
  • Trustees:
    • Steve Davido
    • Steve Gallagher
    • Chris O’Donnell
• Join Us Slate [link]
  • President: Ray O’Brien
  • Vice-President: Sharon Taylor
  • Secretary-Treasurer: Brian Mitchell
  • Recording Secretary: Tony Mosley
  • Trustees:
    • Tony Gentile
    • Bob Messmer
    • Kathy Kadel

These are the candidates for election in 384 this year, pending eligibility verification.

UPDATE: One of the nominated candidates, John Adams, was improperly nominated, so he has been removed from the list and will not be on the ballot.

The Rank-and-Filer is a collaborative effort to provide actual rank-and-file information and views on the issues we encounter in our local union. I’m helping out with it, and along with a few good members, I’m hoping it can make a difference, especially this fall, as we face a big decision about the future of our union.

Click here to visit the Rank-and-Filer.

It’s important for each member of Local 384 to pay attention (or start paying attention) to the representation they receive. Whether you’re happy or miserable about the representation you receive, this is your clearest opportunity to directly impact the representation you receive in the future. Whether your role is as a potential candidate, helping someone you support campaign for office or just casting a vote (and believe me, that’s as important as any of the others), your participation is vital to the future of this union.

Just something to keep in mind as we all get a little closer to the fall.

This past Sunday at the general membership meeting, President Bonaduce read a letter from Local 107 President and International Vice President Bill Hamilton regarding our health and welfare fund. It was offered as a way of putting the news about our fund into perspective. In short, it spells out how we stack up against similar funds around the country, and it dispels some of the misinformation that may be out there right now. If you want to read the letter in its original form, you can download it here in PDF format.

Click here to download the letter

It was especially good to hear from the folks who took the time to offer comments in the survey form. Though most of you didn’t leave comments, you’re still more than welcome to offer some ideas if you have thoughts on the survey, or ideas on how to improve our Union.

Click here to view the survey results now